All the Arts, All the Time

Broadway shows--plus Cirque du Soleil--heading to Orange County Performing Arts Center next season

March 19, 2010 | 12:01
am

The Orange County Performing Arts Centerhas announced what center president Terry Dwyer calls "our most eclectic season yet," a lineup of 2010-11 Broadway and Curtain Call offerings that include "Hair," "Wicked" and "Mary Poppins" as well as a new production by Cirque du Soleil.

The shows, presented by national touring companies, will be performed at the center's Segerstrom Hall in Costa Mesa.

The Broadway Series will open Oct. 12-24 with the Tony-winning Bartlett Sher revival of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s "South Pacific," a production that originated at Lincoln Center Theater.

Next comes Dec. 7-26 appearances by Cirque du Soleil in what Dwyer describes as a program designed to fit a theatrical setting as opposed to a giant tent. "Other than that," he adds, "we don't have the details yet."

"Hair," the '60s free-love fest that was revived in 2008 by the Public Theater in Central Park and then taken to Broadway for a Tony-winning run, will play Jan. 25-Feb. 6.

"Wicked," the tale of how the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good got started, broke box office records at the center in 2006 and is returning March 9-April 3 because, says Dwyer, "people let us know they really wanted to see it again."

The Disney-Cameron Mackintosh production of "Mary Poppins" will fly into town July 14–31, followed Sept. 6-18 by "West Side Story" in a bilingual revival directed by Arthur Laurents, who wrote the show's book more than a half-century ago.

The Curtain Call Series, which presents one-week engagements, starts with Disney’s "Beauty and the Beast" Nov. 1 –21. "Rock of Ages," an '80s (Journey, REO Speedwagon, Pat Benatar) story about an aspiring rocker on the Sunset Strip, will play March 1-6. Finishing the season May 10-15 will be "9 to 5: The Musical," which is based on the 1980 movie about three female office workers who figure out how to make it in a man's world.

As a bonus event, OCPAC is offering the Abba-centric "Mamma Mia!" June 21-26.

Moving up the coast to Santa Barbara, the Theater League has announced its 2010-11 Broadway Series, which will bring four national touring productions to the Granada theater.

The season will start with "Beauty and the Beast" on Nov. 2 and 3, followed by "A Chorus Line" on Jan. 25 and 26, "Monty Python's Spamalot" on March 8 and 9 and "Fiddler on the Roof" on April 5-6.

-- Karen Wada

Above:Members of the cast of the 2009 Broadway revival of "Hair." Credit: Joan Marcus